The 10 Longest Flights In The World – 2018 Edition…

You may want to close your eyes. Though there are a few good options left in economy, seats for the most part are getting smaller. And unfortunately for many – flights are not getting any shorter. Advanced, fuel efficient open up new possibilities, allowing airlines to target more direct, point to point flights. That means longer flights. This year, at least two new flights will rock the world’s longest list.

Qatar Airways presently operate the longest flight in the world between Doha, Qatar and Auckland, New Zealand. The flight can last up to a shocking 18 hours 20 minutes and unless Singapore re-launch New York to Singapore service, it will retain the longest flight in the world record. But come March, a new flight record will be broken. Qantas will offer the worlds first ever regularly scheduled non stop flight between Europe and Australia. The flight, spanning 9,008 miles will be operated by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. So – what will the new list look like?

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Feel free to double check the official model designation used by Boeing for its 787 at its own web site, but there’s no such model with the designation “787-900”.

Instead, the official designations for the three production models are as follows:

1.) 787-8, which is the smallest and baseline model; it was also the first of the three models to enter revenue service;

2.) 787-9, which is the intermediate sized model, or the first “stretched” version that is an higher capacity AND can fly even farther than the smaller “-8”. Thus far, this model is the best selling version used by many airlines around the world;

3.) 787-10, which is currently undergoing testing for airworthiness/safety certification, and NOT yet in service. This version is a “double stretch” of the “-8”, and is the largest capacity of the three 787 models. However, the trade-off for capacity comes at the expense of range, as this version has a maximum range of approximately 6,400 nautical miles (nm) nearly 1,000 nm less than the smallest model, the 787-8 (~7,335 nm) and approximately 1,300 nm less than the intermediate capacity 787-9 (~7,635 nm) the model QANTAS is using for the Perth-London/Heathrow sector, or United uses for its LAX-Singapore and Houston/Intercontinental-Auckland routes.

Many current updated models have adopted the single digit (or “dash/-8, -9”) or double digit (-10) sub model designations introduced with the 787 and the 747-8. For example, the next generation 777 will be the 777-8 which will likely be prominently seen on this top ten list of longest flights ten years from now as it, and Airbus’s A350-900ULR, will offer the longest range available. The larger capacity update of the 777 will carry the designation 777-9, and will also fly many long haul trunk routes now flown by the 777-300ER.

Lastly, Boeing’s (hopefully) last and final derivatives of its 1950s/early 1960’s designed and engineered 737 series, will also shed the triple digit sub-model designation noted above in favor or the -7, -8, -9 and -10 versions with the “dash 7” being the smallest, the -8 roughly equivalent to the current -800, the -9 roughly equivalent to the current -900, and the -10 an attempt to compete with Airbus’s hot selling A321neo.

The 737MAX series will also offer a special high capacity, 200 passenger model based on the -8, which is targeted to low cost carriers such as Ryanair, which is the launch carrier for this version.